Strength
by Lindous
Summary: Link and Zelda did not count on their first daughter being crippled. Set 5 years after the events of Skyward Sword. Oneshot.


"That hat seems a bit big on you," Link said. The little girl in his arms, born only a few months earlier, with silver-blond hair and bright green eyes, held his cap onto her head. As it slipped over her face, the baby began to wave its arms in an attempt to pull the cap off.

Link chuckled patiently. "Just a few more years, and it's yours," he said gently. He frowned when he remembered. "At least, I hope a few more years. Come on, lets be going," he said to the little girl in his arms.

As Link walked through Faron Woods, his eyes drank in the the the products of there being a lack of monsters in this more fecund land. The grass grew up to knee-high length, and flowers dotted the trees, almost consistently raining down pedals during the spring. Fish seemed to dance through the ponds, and sunlight bounced off of the water.

Bound for the lair of the great dragon Faron, Link was bringing his daughter for the first time in order to consult a matter concerning her. Back at the Temple of Time, Zelda was still watching over the triforce, alone for a few short hours. Their daughter's nursery was just below the fruit tree that had been planted in the temple.

As the roar of the waterfall could be heard in the distance, Link felt himself clutch the child more tightly; although it had been quite some time since he had seen Faron, this was not a part of the journey that he was eager to subject his daughter to. Entering through the gate that led him toward Lake Floria, Link looked down the waterfall that roared and swished into churning waters that lay a few hundred feet down. It was a perfectly safe dive, of course. Link simply did not look forward to how his daughter would react to the sudden jolt of landing in cold water, which even he still found unpleasant.

Link clutched the girl higher and jumped down into the lake, wrapping himself protectively around the baby, before there was a loud splash and he came to the surface of the water.

Still clutching the crying child in his arms, Link made his way to behind the waterfall, where there was a stone shelf present to climb onto that was perfectly dry.

"Hey, shh," Link said, and began to hum the girl's lullaby.

A few moments after the child calmed down, Faron gracefully swept to the surface of the water before stretching out into the air before Link. The child, still lulled from Link's singing, took no notice, but shivered.

"So, what brings you here, hero, after so many years?" Faron asked slowly. "It's been awhile."

"A trial of great significance," Link responded. "This child is the reason that I have come here. She was born ill; I wondered if you could help me and her mother."

"And her mother, I assume, is...?" Faron asked.

"The very same girl whom I tracked when I first came to the surface," Link confirmed, and Faron nodded.

"As it is for the maiden, I will have a look at the child." Faron leaned in and the rested the tip of her claw very gently on the child's forehead, and the girl awoke with a cry.

"She is a fighter, but I don't think that I will be able to help her. This is not something which I have the authority to change," Faron said. "I can bring you back to the woods, but from there I cannot help you."

Link nodded, having never let the girl out of his arms since he left the Temple of Time, and allowed Faron to bring him and the girl back to the gate.

* * *

"Nothing can change it," Link said as he walked into the temple with the little girl in his arms. "Faron couldn't do anything. I don't think we have any real options left."

Zelda looked up from where she sat by the resting master sword, her eyes brimmed with tears. "You know that we can't do it," she said quietly. "It wouldn't be right to use the triforce for this..."

"I know it," Link said quietly, his voice cracking slightly. "We are supposed to be guarding it. Using it could warn anyone seeking it of its location." He looked down at the child in his arms. "She'll never be able to walk, Zelda. That's just how it has to be..."

Zelda was sobbing now, her head in her arms. "I love her, Link, I love her so much..."

"I love her to."

"Does this mean that we failed? That we could not even protect our own child...?" Zelda said, her voice full of sorrow.

"We haven't failed her. We only fail if we forget the fact that she is ours," Link said, his voice regaining strength.

"I have been thinking of names while you were gone. Something that she would know means strength."

"What is it that you wanted to name her?"

"Impa. I want to name her Impa. This way, even though she may never walk, she will always be strong."

* * *

**It is both short and probably going to undergo some serious editing later, but I wanted to put this one up after having the idea for several months. **

**Thanks for reading! =)**


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